Neel Dervin and the Dark Angel by Neeraj Chand Page A

the
weather stained walls, and the old coat of paint gave it a distinctly shabby appearance. It was
where Neel and his mother had lived ever since his birth. On the left side, adjacent to their
house, lived Mr. and Mrs. Ghosh with their daughter Priyanka. On the other side of the street
stood the house of the Dases, the upper windows of their house shut tightly as usual. The
street was deserted as darkness fell rapidly around them.
    Neel stared around at the familiar scene. There was the feeling of comfort in returning
home, but also something else. There was a sense of being alien to the well known
surroundings, as though he was almost a new arrival to the house. He had returned from the
hospital a vastly different person from before, and he found himself looking at the wellknown surroundings through new eyes. It was an enhanced awareness of the environment, as
though until the accident his senses had been clogged up, and he was now seeing and hearing
things properly for the first time. It was an odd sensation, thrilling but also unsettling. He
could count the tendrils of the fungus growing within one of the tiny cracks at the bottom of
the wall. He could smell the scent of warm food coming from the house next to theirs. He
could hear the distinct patter of different footsteps on the main road as though they were
walking in front of him…
    “Neel?” His mother‟s voice brought him back from his thoughts. She was
looking at
him anxiously, worried by the strange, vacant expression on his face as he stood staring at
their house. “Are you feeling all right?”
    “Yeah, I‟m fine.” Neel said
quickly, forcing his mind back from its wanderings.“It feels
nice to be back.” He went to stand before the front gate of their house. His mother stared at
him for a moment before going to unlock the gate. Neel silently followed his mother inside
their house, every step forward sending a barrage of information to his brain. He struggled to
maintain a grasp on his mind as it threatened to speed up again.
    The scene inside their home was as Neel remembered it. The small but cheerful kitchen.
The stone basin and the cupboards filled with pots and pans. The drawing room in its semi
tidy state, with the TV remote laying on the sofa. Kept opposite to the sofa was a large and
comfortable bed, where they usually sat to watch the evening shows. Their house held a
cramped air, as though it could barely squeeze in all the objects and furniture inside. But it
held a cozy air, and it was the house he had grown up in.
    “
These last two days I‟ve spent so much time in the office and at the hospital that the
entire house is in a mess.” His mother sighed, staring at the disorderly surroundings. She
opened the fridge and peeredinside. “Why don‟t you go freshen up in your room? You can
rest for a while if you want to, or maybe get some fresh air on the terrace, and I‟ll call you
when dinner will be ready.”
“Okay.” Neel said and made his way upstairs. He could hear the clink of cutlery from
the kitchen as he pushed open the door to his room and entered.
    The tiny study table in a corner. The bed pushed against the wall. The rickety cupboard
which never shut properly, and which for some reason always opened at the slightest touch.
The steel shelf where his books were kept. Save for some tidying up that his mother had
done, everything was just as he had left it.
    Neel could hear the sounds of his mother moving around downstairs preparing lunch as
though she was right outside the door. He reached inside his sleeveless jacket and pulled out
a packet that Divya had given him at the hospital. It had taken some effort to smuggle the
packet out of the hospital without his mother noticing. Inside it was a pair of noise cancelling
headphones, designed to block out sound near his ears while he slept. Divya had told him
that, because of his enhanced hearing, he would find it very difficult to fall sleep unless he
wore the